The death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, assassinated at the age of 53 with a car bomb, is a profound loss to investigative journalism, democracy, free speech and the honest citizens of Malta. Relieved by it will be those responsible for organised crime, corrupt politicians and shady police officers in the Mediterranean island republic.

Her career in journalism started after the Maltese general election of 1987, when the Labour government was replaced after a hard-fought struggle for democracy. Having been thrown into a police cell at the age of 18 for taking part in protests against the government, Caruana Galizia never lost her outrage against authoritarian government. Her activism of the 1980s was reborn in her journalism.

During the 90s she worked as a columnist both with the Sunday Times of Malta and the Malta Independent. She also served as associate editor of the latter. Colleagues there remember her as meticulous and hard-working, though not always easy to get along with. Until her assassination she was writing a weekly column for the daily and the Sunday editions of the Malta Independent.

Her formidable skills took her beyond political commentary. She was the publisher and editor of coffee-table magazines, such as Taste&Flair, that were worlds apart from her gritty reportage. Thus, in any given month you could read her claims about, say, a minister whom she accused of going to a brothel in Germany while on official government business and then learn about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and the pleasures of olive picking in the north of the island.

But her most important journalistic contribution was her blog, which she ran single-handedly. It quickly became Malta’s most popular independent news website. Her readers, including her adversaries, assiduously followed her crusade against corruption, sleaze and crime. Everybody knew she was that rare creature in Malta – a maverick who acted independently of all authorities, political parties or financial interests. She received more stories and tip-offs than any of the large media organisations.

When Caruana Galizia broke the story in 2016 about secret Panamanian companies that two top government politicians had set up just days after getting into power, she had reached the peak of her influence. She then reported that a third secret company in Panama belonged to the wife of the prime minister, taking her case to the very centre of Maltese political power.

This was hardly the first time she had challenged power: an acting police commissioner and his son, also with the force, resigned after she exposed their connection with dubious characters.

A Maltese commissioner of the European Union who had resigned under a cloud was exposed for his entanglement with an alleged fraudster in the Bahamas. Police investigations then led to the arraignment of his daughters on money-laundering charges. Caruana Galizia investigated alleged connections between a bank in Malta, Pilatus Bank, Azerbaijani politicians and the Maltese Labour government’s top personalities. The publication of the Paradise Papers since her death has vindicated her reports, just as did last year’s Panama Papers, also leaked through ICIJ, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Organised crime, particularly oil smuggling from Libya, was a frequent subject for investigation, especially during the last 12 months. Caruana Galizia’s main target in summer 2017 was Adrian Delia, leader of the Nationalist party since September and subsequently leader of the opposition, whom she accused of operating an offshore client account for the Maltese owner of several properties that were involved in a prostitution racket. He and other politicians instituted libel cases after denying the allegations.

Born in the east coast resort town of Sliema, Daphne was the daughter of Michael Vella, who owned a lift business, and his wife, Rose Marie (nee Mamo). She was educated at St Dorothy’s convent school, Mdina, and St Aloysius college, Birkirkara, and later studied as a mature student at the University of Malta, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in archaeology in 1997.

I knew her mainly through her writings and once supported her by giving testimony in a libel case brought against her. In my column in the Sunday Times of Malta I both defended her and disagreed with her. There were times when her journalism was not accurate and her opinions sometimes swayed her from reporting fairly. Like the title of her first column, in 1987 with the Sunday Times of Malta, she too could represent “the good, the bad, and the ugly”, but when she was good – and most of the time she was – she produced the very best journalism.

Latterly, Caruana Galizia was not supported by any organisation or institution. Her independence was the thing she treasured most. Her assassination shocked thousands in her own country and overseas. The pope showed his solidarity. The UN, the European commission, the European parliament and the Council of Europe expressed their harshest condemnation.